TROUBLED telecoms group Marconi defended its use of two company jets today after it was reported to be spending nearly #5 million a year on the planes.

Marconi, which announced 4,000 job redundancies last month as part of a cost-cutting campaign, said it made economic sense to use the jets.

The planes ferry engineers from one of Marconi's main plants at Coventry to sites at Pittsburgh in the US and Genoa in Italy.

The Mirror reported today that Marconi was paying #800,000 a year to lease a Raytheon Hawker and another #1 million for a 20-seat Gulfstream jet. It was also said to have a #2.5 million bill for servicing and fuel.

Marconi declined to discuss the figures today but said the cost was cheaper than relying on scheduled flights.

Roger Jeary, national secretary for manufacturing at the MSF union, described the use of the planes as the "height of extravagance" at a time when workers were losing their jobs.

He added: "We hope that the management can come down from the clouds long enough to turn around the current disastrous situation."

Marconi has seen its share price slide to record lows this week as the group faces up to tough conditions in the telecoms sector.

A Marconi spokesman said the jets also saved money on hotel bills: "The flexibility it offers over standard flights means people are not forced to make overnight stays in the US and Italy."

He added: "These are not planes used for executives to fly around. They are working planes to take engineers."

The company has used the Hawker plane for three years and took the controls of the Gulfstream jet in February 1999.